Hana Financial Group's headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

Hana Financial Group has expanded its strategic partnership with Dunamu after acquiring a 6.55 percent stake in the digital asset company for about 1 trillion won ($667 million) through its core affiliate Hana Bank, the group said Friday.

The deal makes Hana Bank the fourth-largest shareholder of Dunamu, which operates Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit. The bank’s board earlier in the day approved the purchase of Dunamu’s 2.284 million shares from Kakao Investment. This marks the largest-ever investment by a Korean commercial bank in a single digital asset company.

The investment comes as the global financial industry accelerates its transition toward blockchain and stablecoin infrastructure. Hana Financial described the partnership as an effort to merge traditional financial services with digital innovation capabilities in order to strengthen competitiveness in the rapidly evolving digital finance market.

Dunamu has established itself as the dominant player in the country’s digital asset sector, supported by its large user base and trading activity, as well as its technological infrastructure and internal control systems.

The latest deal has altered Dunamu’s shareholder composition.

As of the end of 2025, Chairman Song Chi-hyung remained the largest shareholder with a 25.51 percent stake, followed by Vice Chairman Kim Hyoung-nyon with 13.10 percent. Following the sale, former third-largest shareholder Kakao Investment, which previously owned 10.58 percent, dropped out of the top five shareholders, while Hana Bank rose to become the fourth-largest shareholder behind Woori Technology Investment, which holds a 7.20 percent stake.

Despite the acquisition, Upbit’s existing real-name account partnership with Kbank will remain in place.

Hana Financial said the deal was a strategic investment aimed at building a future-oriented financial ecosystem.

“This investment is a strategic step to accelerate digital asset-driven financial innovation,” Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo said. “Together with Dunamu, we will lead the development of the Korean blockchain ecosystem and support the domestic digital asset industry’s leap toward global competitiveness.”

Source: Korea Times News